A Beginning
by Tempus Lupus
Summary: In the wake of Tosh and Owen, Jack encourages Gwen to get away for a break with Rhys, but these things never go smoothly do they? Jack/Gwen in the main but some implied Jack/Ianto and Gwen/Rhys.
1. Should i stay or should i go?

"Canada is amazing, Banff is beautiful, go and enjoy yourself; try and take your mind off things for a while. The break will do you good, hell it'll do you _and_ Rhys good to spend some time together away from here after everything that's happened recently." Jack smiled at Gwen and sat back in the chair behind his desk. Gwen mirrored his position in her chair opposite him, she didn't say anything immediately, just sat back and watched as he poured over a file in front of him.

'_He looks tired' _she thought to herself, and although he seemed to be staring intently at the file in front of him, he almost seemed to be looking through it. He looked up then, catching her eye. He quirked his head to the side as if he were studying her for a moment, "was there something else?" he asked her.

"No, no, I just…" she sighed, on hearing this he shut the file in front of him, resting his elbows on the desk, leaning forward and placing his chin on his linked fingers.

"You just?" he asked, gesturing for her to continue. She leaned back further into the chair and closed her eyes, running her hands through her hair, bringing her elbows onto the desk, again mirroring him, but resting her face in her hands, not looking at him. She let out a deep breath and rubbed her temples with her fingers, eyes still closed, before looking up at Jack once more.

"I just, with Tosh and Owen.. gone.." her breath caught slightly in her throat, " I know I could do with a break we all could, but…" Jack interrupted her "but what Gwen?" he asked not taking his eyes off her.

"I just don't want to go anywhere, I mean what if something happens and I cant get back, or something happens to you or Ianto and I am thousands of miles away, I couldn't bare it Jack." Her voice rising slightly as she got more and more anxious.

"Gwen, we'll be fine, c'mon you need this. I need for you to have this. Do it for me, please." He reached across the desk and lifted her chin with his fingers, letting one stroke her gently. Gwen sniffed slightly, still not breaking eye contact and nodded her head gently.

"Hey I could get used to this Gwen, what are the chances of getting upgraded huh?!" Rhys beamed as they took their seats in first class. When they arrived at check-in they were informed that they were suitable for upgrade, so instead of being stuck in economy, Rhys was currently transforming his seat into s bed and back again, much to Gwen's annoyance. She couldn't help think that Jack had a hand in upgrading them, and chuckled to herself slightly at what or who he had done to achieve it.

Four hours later and Rhys was asleep, Gwen was lost in her own world, looking out of the window, thinking about the events of the previous months. Tosh and Owen, Grey, the end of the world, Ianto, and Jack. Jack's brother had killed Tosh in cold blood, and if it weren't for him, Owen would still be with them. Jack's brother, she almost couldn't process it, it was too horrible to think about. Of course she didn't blame jack but she could see in his eyes that he blamed himself. She hoped that while she was away, Ianto would have been able to help Jack deal with his thoughts, but deep down she doubted it.

Rhys grunted and shifted opposite her, returning to his peaceful slumber; she looked at him laying there, his face relaxed with sleep and considered how much he had been there for her over those months. Holding her while she cried, helping out in any way he could, she felt an enormous amount of pride for him, but something had shifted in their relationship, it was almost as if they were flat mates and best friends more than lovers and partners. She had found herself coming home from a hard day, and wanting to go straight back. Whether it was due to the sight of Jack on CCTV in the firing range; unloading round after round of bullets into targets only he could see like a robot for hours at a time, or the sound of a cup of coffee shattering across the floor as Ianto remembered his fallen colleagues, friends, she would find him bent down, tears rolling down his cheeks as he picked up the broken pieces of china, ignoring the fact he had cut his hand.

That was happening a lot less these days but there was still the thought of it every time Jack cleaned his gun in his office with a faraway expression on his face or when Ianto gave her a cup of coffee and their eyes met.

She found herself coming home to Rhys, and almost resenting that she was there with him when she could have been at the hub in case Jack or Ianto needed her. She wasn't naive, she knew Jack and Ianto were trying to work through it both separately and together, and she envied them for it.

On better days she would see simple interaction between them, a glance, a touch, one of Jacks unruly flirting statements or a clipped note of sarcasm from Ianto, and she found herself at home with Rhys, unconsciously using one of those phrases she had heard that day, and instead of provoking a glance, a touch, or a response she had expected, she would find Rhys looking at her like she had grown two heads.

She had noticed over the past few weeks that the obvious flirting between Jack and Ianto had disappeared, she thought maybe they were doing it for her, because they had both suddenly become less focused on each other, and more on her.

Instead of Jack taking Ianto out for a coffee by the bay, he took her. Instead of Ianto taking his coffee into Jacks office, he would often sit on the sofa by her desk and ask her how she was getting on. Thinking about it more and more, it was a little odd, maybe they had a row or a disagreement over something. She made a mental note to look into it more when she got back.

She shook her head, trying to dissolve those foggy and oppressive thought, trying instead to focus on her holiday.


	2. Oh, Canada

AN: O.k , so this is chapter 2, I hope you guys like it, totally not betaed, but always looking for willing victims! Thank you so much for the reviews and alerts!!

Chapter 2

"Jack, something odd's happening, people are taking the gondola to the top of the mountain, wandering around, getting back in to come down, but when the pods arrive back at the bottom they are empty. It's not everyone – I mean there doesn't seem to be any pattern for it, I've checked cctv and I can't see anything, it goes fuzzy and then they're gone. According to local officers it's been happening on and off for about a month now, though why no one thought to look into it I can't think! Can you have a look for any widespread rift activity or any unusual weather patterns?" Gwen rambled.

"Sure I'll get right on it, how was the vacation going?" he asked with a slight smile audible in his voice. "Oh you know it was fine, but now Rhys thinks the yeti is running around kidnapping tourists." She said, slight annoyance creeping through.

Jack could imagine her pacing around as she always did when she was on the phone, rolling her eyes as she said it and it made him smile to himself. Ianto handed him some papers and his smile disappeared. "Gwen, there are some strange readings for that area over the past couple of months, I'm going to have to come out there, take a look-see what's going on, I'll email you the details." Jack hung up the phone and looked at Ianto, "I'll book you a flight then sir." Ianto said and made his way to the computer, knowing he would be staying behind.

///

Gwen made her way back to the hotel with all the reports she could gather. Surprisingly the local force hadn't heard of Torchwood but after she spoke with Jack; he must have called the right people because she was given her own officer, a car, and full access to all of their research systems.

Arriving back to her hotel room, Rhys was sat on the sofa, bottle of beer in hand with the TV on in the background.

He looked in her direction when she entered the room then turned back to the TV and downed the remainder of his beer. "Hey, how's your day been?" Gwen asked, sitting down on the sofa next to him. He stood up and walked over to the fridge to get another beer.

"Gwen, " he paused, "Why the bloody hell does it feel like we're back in Cardiff and you're at work all bloody day? You're supposed to be taking a break, with me, not throwing yourself into this pile of shit!" he said, gesturing to the files she had put on the coffee table in front of where she was sat. "Rhys, I thought you were alright with this, I can't just ignore people disappearing can I?!" she yelled at him.

He slammed his beer down onto the table, "I've had it up to here with this Gwen, I've tried Christ I have, but it's doing my head in. Look, I've called the airline and booked myself on a flight late tonight. I can't stay here Gwen, we're going to shit."

He breathed heavily staring at her, expecting some sort of response. She let out the breath she had been unconsciously holding "Well that's great Rhys, that's what you think of us is it? To piss off and leave me to deal with it?" she screamed. "I'm not bloody Torchwood Gwen, don't you get it? I feel like I've married Torchwood not you!" he screamed back. He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down, "I'm sorry Gwen I really am." He took one last look at her, grabbed his bag that was already packed, and left.

Gwen couldn't believe Rhys had actually gone. He had left, left her, left everything behind. She was too numb to even think about it and she sure as hell couldn't concentrate on the reports so she crawled fully dressed into bed and cried herself slowly to sleep.

///

_Knock, knock, knock_ – "GWEN, YOU THERE? RHYS?! IT'S JACK!" Gwen stumbled down the stairs of the loft apartment to the front door.

"Alright alright, hang on!" she mumbled sleepily. Opening the door she saw Jack standing there, all billowing coat and teeth.

"Good morning people," Jack shouted in a sing song voice as he walked into the room and dumped his bag on the counter. Gwen made two coffees and gave one to Jack without saying anything and sat on the sofa with hers."

"Hey Rhys, ready to go yeti hunting?" he shouted up to the bedroom area whilst smirking at Gwen.

"He's not here Jack." She sighed "Oh? He's gone to get breakfast, I'm starved, they gave us these tiny breakfast boxes on the flight and the coffee was awful." He babbled on until he noticed Gwen's face.

"Gwen, what happened?" he sat next to her, angling his body towards hers. "He just thinks my job is more important than he is." She looked down at the cup of coffee in her hands like it held all the answers. "Why? Because of this? Most likely it'll be sorted in a couple of days and you can get back to your vacation. Gwen you promised me you would keep it together, what's changed?" he asked. "I have I think Jack. With everything that's happened, I can't seem to focus on anyone apart from myself, I can't give Rhys the attention he needs, or deserves." A tear ran down her cheek. Jack moved his hand to wipe the tear away. "Gwen, if you wanna fly home to sort this out I'm sure I can cope. I'll book you on the next flight."

"No," she replied instantly "No, Jack. I'm staying here. He can't dictate my life like this. I'm not going to go running after him every time he goes off on one. Maybe that says more about our relationship than I want to think about at the moment." She concluded. "Well I'm not going to argue with you, it sounds like you have had enough arguments for a while. Now, I'm gonna go check in and when I get back I'll take you to breakfast, my treat."

"Jack, stay here, there are two king size beds upstairs, plus there's another one in this cupboard, I'll be rattling around on my own , and..." she said in a smaller, and much less confident voice, "it would be nice to have the company." Jack noticed she avoided making eye contact with him, and thought to himself how much she had changed recently. It was almost as if she had receded into herself, lost her fight, and her confidence was decimated.

Jack didn't want to invade her personal space too much, but at the same time she had asked him to stay. He wandered upstairs and saw the king-size beds side by side. He looked over the mezzanine down to the lounge where Gwen was still stood.

"Hey," He waved slightly. She couldn't help but smile and wave back. "So I guess I'm staying roomie." He laughed and bounded down the stairs to grab his bag and unpack.

Once Jack was settled they went down into town, to the local sheriffs' office. "We'll just swing by so I can introduce myself and brighten up their day, then breakfast."

Gwen smiled at him but it didn't reach her eyes, he gripped her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

After making the necessary introductions, several enemies and quite possibly one or two new friends all on Jack's part they ended up in a restaurant for breakfast.

They sat eating together, Jack trying to break through Gwen's malaise, "You know, Banff is one of my favourite places on this planet, especially with all the snow. Hey, d'you ski? We should go! I dated this ski instructor once, boy, some of the things he could do with..." "JACK!" Gwen interrupted, "leave it yeah?" she asked. He smiled at her, but frowned when he noticed he gaze was fixed on a point just over his left shoulder and they finished their breakfast in silence.

///

After a long day of investigating and trying to find out what exactly was happening on Sulphur Mountain Jack and Gwen returned to the hotel, cold, tired and hungry.

Jack sat in the lounge to call Ianto as Gwen made her way for a hot shower.

"Ianto, its Jack. How are you getting on?" He asked quietly. He listened as Ianto gave him the run down on the last few days. Thankfully everything was relatively quiet. "I'm sorry I had to leave you Ianto, it's just..."

"Gwen needs you more than I do at the moment Jack, its ok, just look after her for me; she's all we have left." He said a hint of sorrow in his voice.

"I will, I'm sorry Yan."

"Its OK Jack, we both know things have changed, I'm grateful for the time we had together, and just because we're going down a different path, I'm glad I have both of you with me. Mostly I'm glad Gwen has Rhys, she needs the support he gives her." "Yeah about that, he walked out on her, he's back in Cardiff. Didn't take it too well that torchwood was eating into their holiday time. I've been trying to talk to Gwen about it but she's extremely guarded. I'm not sure they are going to work through this one. Anyway, she's in the shower so I had better go, you know she would slap me if she knew we were talking about her like this." He grinned slightly at the thought.

"I'm sure she would be glad that we cared Jack. Give me a call if you or Gwen needs anything. Take care Jack." Jack put down his phone and leaned against the glass doors that lead out to their balcony, the glass cool against his forehead.

He closed his eyes, he didn't want to lose Ianto, but he couldn't keep going with the way things were between them. He was just grateful Ianto had helped him feel less guilty about it all, he didn't deserve friends like that, he thought to himself. He straightened up and turned around, he saw a flash of towel and bare legs as Gwen made her way up the stairs from the shower.

"So," Jack started, trying to shift the image of Gwen's legs from his mind, "what do you want to do tonight?"

"I don't know Jack, I'm exhausted, and with Rhys, why don't you go out. I'll be ok here on my own. I don't much feel like being around a lot of people." Her voice floated down from upstairs. Jack moved to the kitchen to make some coffee for them both, "Gwen I don't want to leave you here, come out, have some fun."

He grinned to himself. Gwen appeared at the bottom of the stairs in some grey tracksuit bottoms and a white singlet. "No Jack. I'm staying here, but you go." He turned around and smiled at her, handing her a cup of coffee, looking at her clothes he knew she would not be convinced. "Ok, but I'll see you later ok?" he asked. "Sure," she replied "but I'm probably just going to get knot bed and get some sleep." She sighed. Jack nodded and touched her arm gently, before finishing his coffee and grabbing his coat and leaving the apartment with a wave.


	3. Decisions

_**An: Hi, sorry it took so long to update, I've had a hectic few weeks plus I kind of lost inspiration for this story, and I think I am back on track now. Thank you to everyone who as put his story on their alert, and also thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. But please, please keep reviewing; they make my day so much brighter.**_

**0o0**

The bustle of Banff in the evening as Jack strolled along the main avenue made his tongue tingle. All the lives, merging and interacting. He headed for a lively looking bar and settled at a table watching the people around him. Letting his mind wander, he found himself lost in thoughts of friends past and future, but could not keep his mind from wondering what Gwen was doing. He thought about her and Rhys' relationship, it had definitely been getting more turbulent over the past few months, that's what this holiday was supposed to be for, a chance for them to recharge and reconnect, but as is the way when you work for Torchwood, things tend to get in the way.

0o0

Jack unlocked the door to their now shared room and closed it quietly behind him, walking into the lounge area and his heart jumped in his chest at what he saw; Gwen lying on the sofa, curled up on her side, sound asleep. His breath caught in his throat slightly as he continued to watch her. Her chest rose and fell almost hypnotically; her face looked relaxed, it made her look younger somehow.

Jack moved quietly over to the TV and turned it off, he padded upstairs and got a quilt from her bed and gently covered her with it, taking one last look at her he made his way upstairs, he lay on his bed and let his mind wander off into the night.

Gwen was awoken by soft humming and the smell of coffee as it wafted past her, she stretched and opened her eyes slowly, yawning loudly, "g'morning Gwen," Jack chuckled. Gwen sat up on the sofa, taking a minute to collect herself, "Oh, hi Jack." She looked at the quilt on her questioningly and then to Jack, he smiled at her, "Oh, when I got back you were asleep so I brought your blanket down." She got up, adjusting her pyjamas and walked over to the kitchen area Jack was currently occupying.

"What are you making?" Gwen asked, clutching her cup of coffee and peering over Jacks shoulder. "Pancakes! Big, fluffy pancakes!! Go sit down, they're ready!!" he exclaimed like an over excited kid.

Gwen sat down at the table and a plate of steaming pancakes was placed in front of her before Jack sat opposite and offered her the maple syrup with a waggle of his eyebrows and a grin.

Gwen laughed at him and enjoyed her breakfast, they chatted and joked and then Jack stood up and went over to the window doors to look out. "Gwen, look it snowed last night." He spoke so quietly she only just heard him. She went over and stood next to him, "Let's go for a walk" she said and that's exactly what they did.

O0o

The snow somehow made everything seem more peaceful, quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the crisp crunching of snow underfoot as Jack and Gwen wandered through the quiet streets. They found themselves sat on a bench on a lookout point above the town. The sun had yet to break through the snowy sky and everything was covered in a matte half light.

Jack glanced at Gwen and was taken aback to see tears running down her cheeks. She looked at him and smiled guiltily. "I was just thinking how Rhys would have dragged me out last night probably got totally pissed and ended up with a nasty hangover and I would have missed this. It's truly beautiful jack," she smiled again and looked away. "You know, I heard about a place near here, it has a beautiful chateau hotel surrounded by frozen lakes and mountains, how about we go and stay up there for a few days?" Jack looked pensive as he asked, afraid of her reaction.

"Jack, I don't know, I came away for a relaxing holiday with Rhys, and before you know it it's tuned into a whole Torchwood debacle, maybe I should just go home and try to sort this mess out with Rhys." She sighed, walking away from him and trudged through the snow.

"Gwen wait!" Jack shouted, but she ignored him and made her way back to the hotel.

Later that evening Jack still hadn't turned up back at the hotel and Gwen was starting to get worried. She knew she shouldn't have walked off from him; he was just trying to be nice, _'I guess he just felt sorry for me because of Rhys'_ she thought to herself, she sat down on the sofa and flicked through the TV channels, trying to distract her mind from worrying about where Jack might be.

_**An: Where is Jack? Is he ok? I might post another chapter tonight, depends how i get on!**_


	4. Attack

_**An: ok, so i got another chapter done, i hope there will be less time between updates now, thanks for reading!**_

0o0

Gwen was startled out of her thoughts by a gentle knock at the door, she walked over and opened it a fraction, peering out. What she saw made her open the door fully and run into the hallway. Jack was leant on the corridor wall, blood dribbling over his face from a nasty gash on his scalp, the rest of him didn't look much better.

She quickly supported him and led him into the room as quickly as she could. "Gwen... I'm..." he wheezed. "Jack, save it. What the hell happened to you?" she asked as she sat him on the lid of the toilet in the bathroom to get a better look at his injuries.

"After you left... I wanted to... give you some time..." he breathed in deeply, wincing at the pain and continued, "So I went... Sulphur Mountain..." he coughed. "Christ!" Gwen interrupted, "You shouldn't have gone on your own!" she shouted, concern giving way to slight anger.

"Gwen," Jack breathed.

"I found a track, I followed it..." he shifted his position and slowly undid the remains of his shirt. "I found a yeti... female... trying to find food... tourists got in the way... usually hibernate... but warmer weather woke it early... dead tourists..." he breathed, fighting the urge to scream at the pain he was in, but he had to explain.

"Well, what happened, it looks like it could have gone better," she smiled lightly, trying to distract him, she ran some warm water in the sink, took a flannel and carefully started to dab at Jack's wounds.

"I tried to communicate with it, but – it attacked me. We fell off the rock face, the snow was deep, I survived, but – it's dead. I managed to drag the body into a cave. I don't think we need to worry, it's pretty remote and there is so much wildlife out there I think it will just disappear." Gwen was shocked at what Jack was telling her.

"God Jack, I'm so sorry, let me finish cleaning you up and then I'll get you into bed." She had tears tracking down her cheeks as she spoke and studied his face to make sure she didn't hurt him while she was cleaning him.

"Gwen, I'm ok, seriously, I can take care of myself," she swatted his hand away and continued to see to him, once she was satisfied, she took him by the hand and led him upstairs, pulling the sheets back on her bed she gestured to him to get in.

"Gwen, this is your bed." He whispered. "I know, but its closer to the bathroom and there are wardrobes in the way of yours, it will be easier for you to get into this one, it's ok, I don't mind. Just take it." She smiled shyly at him, paying extra attention to fluffing the pillows, anything to avoid looking at him.

Jack knew he wasn't going to win this fight so he shrugged off the rest of his clothes down to his underwear, Gwen watched as he tentatively got into the bed then she pulled the covers up over him. "Try to sleep Jack, I know you don't usually, but try, it will help you heal quicker." She smiled, leaning over to gently kiss his forehead before standing up to make her way down stairs.

"Yes ma'am" he smiled weakly at her, then closed his eyes.


End file.
